I think I need to stop watching the Weather Channel, too.
Thursday night, I discovered:
*There’s a blackout in San Diego County, where my sister lives. I spoke to her last night and she’s OK, but she’s very warm – it got up to 100 degrees there – and she’s running low on gas for the car. The gas pumps don’t work without electricity. (Something to consider, generally, when preparing for emergencies.)
*There’s a big fire near Austin, where one of my best friends, since kindergarten, lives. Haven’t heard from her yet.
*There’s flooding in Binghamton, my hometown, AGAIN. In 2006, Binghamton had a 100-year flood or a 500-year flood, which was repeated this week. They need better calendars down there, if nothing else. I still have friends down there I need to get in connect with.
*And more flooding down the Susquehanna River, which is apparently a toxic waste dump in parts of Pennsylvania.
My wife’s a teacher, and she made a very astute decision this week. Usually, she starts planning a trip for her spring break in the fall. She’s decided to wait awhile, to better see how disruptive the rain and the inevitable snow will be on the school schedule. (One of her schools was closed Thursday.)
Of course, the rest of the news isn’t better either, with terror threats and economic woes.
Is this why some people have so much energy to complain about, for instance, whether Chaz Bono participates in Dancing with the Stars? I’m trying to figure it out. Is it:
*There is so much in the world one can’t control that they feel it necessary to try to control this.
*They feel a sense of “ownership” of Chaz Bono. “I remember watching little Chastity on the Sonny and Cher show. She has to remain a she, because that’s how I remember her.”
Certainly, it CAN’T be that people think that Chaz Bono has an unfair advantage because of being transgendered, such as the controversy when Renee Richards was playing tennis.
I have no real idea about why some folks get so outraged about things that just don’t affect them personally anyway.